


Signed, Sealed, Delivered

by dreamerswaking



Series: It's No Big Deal [2]
Category: Deadpool - All Media Types, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Assassins & Hitmen, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, Mercenaries, Moral Dilemmas, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:27:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29740803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamerswaking/pseuds/dreamerswaking
Summary: When you're given a gift it's only polite to send a thank you note.orBen questions his actions and receives a message.*Immediately follows the previous story 'Good as Gold' but can probably be read alone.
Relationships: Ben Parker & Peter Parker, Ben Parker & Wade Wilson
Series: It's No Big Deal [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1724836
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Signed, Sealed, Delivered

**Author's Note:**

> So I had a sequel with the basic premise of this within a week of posting the 1st story. I like to let stories sit for awhile and then look at the story with fresh eyes. Well when I went back I hated what I had written. So I rewrote it. Then I waited again. Once again I was like... this is garbage. So I rewrote it again....I think I kept the equivalent of one paragraph. Now I'm like....85% happy with what I've got so I'm going to share it because at this point I'm not sure what I would change. Maybe somewhere down the line I'll edit it again but until that day I hope you get at least a little enjoyment out of this.
> 
> Also. Writing Wade is hard. I hope I did alright.
> 
> Thank you to those who have liked and followed this series. It means the world.

Ben liked to think of himself as a planner. Some people might say he was a little obsessive about it, he preferred to think of it as being prepared. He had contingencies for his contingencies. Still, for all his planning he had never envisioned himself here. How could he? There was no planning for this kind of violation or destruction. It was an unthinkable event that now consumed his life. All his carefully laid plans were in cinders and he found himself scrambling to rebuild and re-lay safety nets for his family. New plans were haphazardly slapped together and set in a world where the rules had all changed.

_He never should have_ **_**had** _ ** _to plan for this._

When Ben walked into that shady bar, on the wrong side of town, there had been a persistent, niggling, worry in the back of his mind that he would end up regretting it. There were ever so many, varied, horrible ways that it could all go wrong. This could further devastate his family, possibly beyond all repair.

Between May’s nightly weeping and Peter’s night terrors there was no time or room for regret. The law he put his trust in failed him. and his options had been pared down until all he had was this noose shaped like a gold card.

After his ‘business meeting’ he found himself walking the streets of New York in a buzzed fog. He probably shouldn’t have had those drinks but it wasn’t like they would put him out for long. Indeed it was all too soon that he deemed himself sober enough to drive and he began to make his way home.

His sober mind whirred as he mulled over his actions. It was one thing to think murderous thoughts and quite another to take action. He was going to be directly responsible for someone’s life being snuffed out. Granted, in his opinion, it was a rather worthless life, barely even human.

Still Ben couldn’t help but dwell on how little he seemed changed from his actions that morning. Shouldn’t he feel different now that he’d moved the plan forward? He found it troubling that he didn’t. All along his way home he thought long and hard, searching his soul, desperately trying to find the guilt he figured must be buried in there somewhere behind the anger and grief. By the time he parked his car and made his way into the house to eat a quick breakfast with May and Peter he still hadn’t found any.

It was while crunching down on a piece of bacon that he settled on the same conclusion that he had come to in the bar. It left him exhausted in a way that had little to do with his physical body, despite the lack of sleep. Ben finished his breakfast and made sure to kiss the crown of Peter’s head and May’s pink cheek on his way out the door. As he drove to the precinct he mused to himself that even if guilt did eventually settle in, he would gladly learn to live with it. His family was worth it, they were worth everything.

So his life continued on.  
  
A week after he signed the back of the gold card he left a sandwich shop during his lunch break to find a a manila envelope taped to the driver’s side window of his car. The small envelope was ridiculously secured with what must have been at least half a roll of premium packing tape. Ben spent a few moments picking at the tape’s edges trying to get a finger-hold on it. After a brief struggle he managed to pry the whole tape coated mess from his window, but not without ripping the envelope in the process. An old cassette tape clattered to the asphalt as the envelope split. With a little more fussing he was able to determine that there was nothing else of interest to the package. No name, no note, just an unlabeled tape. The lack of features was incredibly interesting

A quick glance at his watch informed him that he was due back at the station shortly and thus further investigation would have to wait. Disappointed he carefully slid a pen into the teeth of the tape reel and lifted it up before depositing it into his glove box. The packing tape and envelope made their way onto the passenger seat with as little contact as he could manage. Without any resources in his personal vehicle it would have to do.

While finishing his shift at the station Ben found paperwork provided little distraction from his curiosity. The last hours of his work day seemed to crawl by, probably owed to the fact that he was watching the clock rather more closely than usual. The punching of his time card had never been such a relief and he quickly made his way to the parking lot.

His beat up Chevy was an older model and he found himself rather glad that he had never upgraded the stereo system; thereby retaining the built in cassette player. Smiling a little he started the car before pulling on a latex glove and retrieving the cassette. A brief glance confirmed which side was “A” and he gently popped the cassette into the deck. A small flick of his wrist turned up the volume. For a good few seconds the was nothing but the gentle crackling of empty tape which continued as he pulled his car out of the space and began the drive home.

A block later he was beginning to believe that this was either all a prank or that perhaps the recording was on side “B”. He was about to fast forward to the next side when the sound seemed to change. It was still quiet but now the crackling was replaced with what sounded like quiet breathing and perhaps the rustling of clothing. Ben strained his ears to try and better identify what he was hearing. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the relative silence was suddenly broken.

The tape played an unfamiliar male voice. Ben immediately noticed the man speaking was very peppy and seemed to be in a rather fantastic mood as he addressed him.

_“Helloooo, neighbor! I got your info from my good rodent faced buddy. The one who pours a mean shot of shitty tequila. You know the one. ANYways ~ I have to say I was superdy duperdy excited when I got your card. I mean, I was like DAMN! Weas, my man, is it my birthday? Cause I mean in all seriousness what a fucking gift! I was so happy I almost teared up a bit. I mean it was just so thoughtful. Since Weasel picked it out for me with a lot of help from you I thought I’d send this as my version of a thank you card. Mama didn’t raise me to neglect my Q and A’s. Wait. That’s not right.”_

There was some indistinct muttering before the voice continued, “ _Anywho~ I have a friend of yours here who is just ~dying~ to say a few words to you.”_

There was a brief silence then a horrible squelching noise accompanied by a wet gurgled scream. Ben’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel and if he hadn’t already been at a stop in rush hour traffic he would have brought the car to a screeching halt. His mind was blank. He stared in shock at the dash wondering if he should try and whip the car around and head back to the station. Then a second voice sobbed through the car speakers and that thought went up in flames. _“I-I’mmm s-ss-so sorry.”_

Ben sucked in a breath through his teeth and the air seized in his lungs. His brain triggered into restarting and working in overtime. He knew that voice, even as distorted as it was. Jolting forward his finger hovered over the eject button wavering in indecision as another gurgled scream fed through the speakers. At the next sob on the tape the breath he’d been holding whooshed out and Ben shakily settled back into his seat, dropping his hand back onto the steering wheel.

The tape continued on with the unknown man’s voice taking on a dangerous edge whenever he addressed his victim. Ben listened to the voice wring confession after confession, and plea after plea out of the young man he was torturing. This continued for the full twenty minute drive and was still going as he entered his neighborhood.

When he arrived home Ben carefully parked and left the car running as he closed his eyes. His face was blank and relaxed, and his body seemed almost numb as he listened to the last moments of Steven Westcott's life. When the final death rattle faded away the unknown voice again addressed Ben.

_“What a mess. Mama always said I was too rough on my toys. Well friend, I hope this pseudo thank you card showed my appreciation. It’s not often I get to do work that I truly enjoy. It’s kinda nice being the good guy. It sure does a body good. Gives you a bit of peace of mind, ya know. Righting wrongs, slaying dragons, real do gooder stuff.”_

The voice seemed to hesitate for a moment and when it spoke again the hard edge of his voice had softened to something almost… kind. “ _Listen… I know, - I know you are a good man. I also know that_ _you_ ** _ **know**_** _what kind of favor someone like me might call in.”_ _  
_

Ben’s breath froze in his lungs. He did know and after listening to this tape he had a few more ideas of what might be in store churning up his guts.

The man on the tape sighed, “ _I just want you to know that I’ll do my best to make sure you are still a good man at the end of things. Don’t worry. I promise I’ll think of a really_ ** _ **really**_** _good favor as payment. I’ll try to make it one that you won’t lose any sleep over. But no promises. ‘Til then ~toodles~”_

Ben waited a few moments barely breathing as the car once again filled with the empty static of the blank section of tape. He numbly removed the gloves and gathered them, the tape mound and envelope into his hand. His chest seemed to be weighed down as he leaned forward to eject the cassette tape and turn off the engine. A brief stop at his trash bin took care of the rubbish then tape in hand he trudged his way into the house.

As he walked through the front door a voice cried “Uncle Ben!” and tiny arms wrapped around his waist as Peter’s forehead pounded into his sternum from a rambunctious hug. Smiling gently down at Peter he kissed the boy’s wild curls. As he gently returned the hug he felt the weight crushing his chest disappear. After a moment Peter wriggled out of his hold. Impatient the boy grabbed his hand and tugged until Ben was pulled into the living room to observe and compliment his nephew’s latest Lego creation. The boy’s bright smile at his praise was a balm to his heart.

Later that night he also couldn’t help but smile as he burned a cassette tape.


End file.
